


An Academic Engagement

by ungodlyravenpuff



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bisexual Teddy Lupin, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Hogwarts, Hufflepuff Teddy Lupin, King's Cross Station (Harry Potter), POV Teddy Lupin, Ravenclaw Victoire Weasley, this is my first fanfic so please let me know what you think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:33:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28750749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ungodlyravenpuff/pseuds/ungodlyravenpuff
Summary: Teddy Lupin can't bring himself to resent this uncontrolled crush, not when it comes in the form of mischievous brown eyes and a laugh that sounds like music.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Teddy Lupin/Victoire Weasley
Kudos: 7





	An Academic Engagement

Fourth year, the realisation strikes. The unrequited love club opens its doors—not that its members know yet, thank goodness—and irrational pain awaits.

Technically, she isn’t his cousin, not even close. Aesthetically, they would make a great couple.

But realistically, Teddy Lupin’s mooning is ridiculous, crossing a line of respect he promised himself he never would, but he doesn’t know how to stop.

It started innocuously enough. They were pushed together by tired, happy teens and adults, his constantly-changing eyes first widening at the sight of the wispy baby. The age gap was widest, then, but also not.

It was their normal: stacking the quicker, bigger blocks at three, laughing at the leaves flying towards her as his magic asserted itself for the first time at five, going head to head at nine to see who could charm the extra biscuits from Ron when Gran was out. She always won. He suspected he could’ve won over Uncle Ron as well, given Ron was a lot less resilient in the face of actual pleading puppy eyes than some people might think, but Victoire always found a way to have him in the midst of a scrape when the times to ask Ron finally came around.

 _Merlin_ , he thinks now, three very confusing years later, looking wistfully over the tussle Al and Lily seem to be engaged in, at carefully styled waves of white-blonde hair, _things were so much easier back then._

It was bad enough seeing her constantly over the summer as friends. Awful enough sitting at the same dinner table once a week, having her yank on his earring and laugh with him at Scorpius Malfoy, who was visiting. But at school—being Heads together, being paired for patrols together as a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff—Teddy knew his strengths, and wilful nonchalance wasn’t one of them. Hermione called it ADHD after Harry had taken him to see a Muggle Healer, though the wizarding world didn’t pay much attention to these things.

‘Wrackspurts got your head again?’ a tinkling laugh sounds from beside him, and he blinks, realising belatedly that there isn’t the silver head of hair in front of him anymore.

He turns to face Victoire Weasley, thanking the poor lighting in King's Cross Station for hiding what he’s sure is a violent blush. ‘Oh, so that’s a Ravenclaw anthem now?’

She grins smugly, and by Merlin, the universe _really_ hates him now. ‘Nope. It’s special. Exclusive to you.’ He tries not to think about what that means. ‘Anyway,’ Victoire continues, tucking a silvery curl behind her ear, ‘now that we’re Head Boy and Girl, we need to rethink how this friendship works.’

‘W-what?’ _Stupid stutter._ But usually he was the one trying the hardest to avoid being caught—while they both love pushing the boundaries, Victoire considered talking her way out of a punishment her greatest asset. It's unreal that she’s the one talking about keeping things strictly professional between them.

‘We want to work in full cohesion, don’t we?’ she asks, and his whole body seems to sag in relief.

He’s usually not one for eye contact, but her dark eyes hold this challenge today that’s hard to look away from. ‘Yeah? What did you have in mind?’ He’s aware he’s crossing into dangerous territory, but it can’t hurt to hint, can it? He can always deny his feelings if she’d rather stay friends.

‘Well, an official alliance. Public.’ Victoire always spoke in sentence fragments—a bit weird, since her French was flawless. Not that Ted didn’t like both.

‘So we’re going to be announcing our academic engagement as...as Head Boy and Head Girl?’ he asks carefully.

She shrugs. ‘Yeah, sort of…I mean, sure, academic.’

He don’t know how he does it—probably the infamous impulsivity that both ensure he gets into fights and out of extra homework assignments—but before he can stop himself he’s blurting, ‘Victoire—d’you want to—would you like to, er...’ _wait, what is he doing?_ He halts, eyes wandering over to James and his friends. Third years. That was when he’d started pushing thoughts back, tearing his eyes off boys’ eyelashes softly brushing their cheekbones in potions class, glancing quickly away every time he saw Victoire up close and thought, _oh_.

‘Would I want to?’ she prompts, and he’s pulled back into the present, into waves of embarrassed regret. Merlin, he is such an idiot. He should’ve left well enough alone, and it probably isn’t even close to what she meant. But she’s looking at him expectantly, brown eyes like the swirling depths of the tree rings he’d spent hours admiring his first year, counting on him to finish, and haven’t they always been honest with each other?

He clenches his fists. _He can get through this. This is temporary. He’ll back off after this one truth._ ‘Er, I reallylikeyou,’ he says, unable to meet her eyes this time. Up ahead, Rose was shouldering a new bag, the one he’d bought her for Christmas. ‘And I was wondering if you’d want to go out with me? Not that you have to. I’m really sorry if you don’t, I’m sorry for putting you in this position—’

‘Teddy,’ she cuts, and he zooms in on the freckles on the bridge of her nose. They’re faint, a deep red. _She’s blushing?_ ‘Did you mean that?’

He nods, hands fiddling with his earring in that stupid annoying way they can never stay still. ‘But nothing has to change,' he hastens to clarify. 'Of course I understand if you’d rather not…’

‘Alright, just...’ She cuts him off again, and closes her eyes. Her pale lashes feather her cheekbones. Natural, not twisted and self-imposed like his. ‘Don’t.’ she says, her lips not quite quirked in a smile. ‘I really like you as well.’

‘Wait, what?’ he shuts his own eyes, focuses, and when he opens them again, the fringe at the edge of his vision has turned from bright blue to pale pink, an ode to his disblief. When she grins, it’s blinding. ‘Well? Do I need to spell it out?’ He stares at his ink-stained sneakers, the bubble-gum pink a bright contrast against the gray platform. He can do this. He isn’t a Gryffindor, but he does value loyalty above everything else, and he owes this to Victoire. He steps forward and closes his eyes as she tilts her chin. The tension in him is cranked up to breaking point, ready to shatter when their lips finally meet in a firm kiss. And then her hands are in his hair and his own have found their way to her waist and he can feel her silky robe and her insistent tug closer and see the disapproving look of a mother nearby and _oh_. It’s like he’s drowning in the best possible way.

Then a small dark-haired figure appears in place of the judgemental woman from before, and lets out a high-pitched yell before bolting in the other direction.

Victoire breaks apart from him, gasping a little for breath. Her eyes have an amused, steely glint to them. ‘Fred?’

He shakes his head, eyes darting involuntarily to her lips as she talks. He feels like slapping his brain back into his head. ‘James.’

But she smiles that too-wide smile he knows is reserved for only her happiest moments, and warmth floods his pale cheeks.

‘Yeah, Edward Lupin,’ she laughs, shaking her head, and he’s never been as entranced by her as he is now. ‘A purely academic engagement, indeed.’

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Kudos and comments are really appreciated. Thanks for reading!


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